Social, Marketing & Communication Media to Drive Your Business

Web, hosting and social media marketing. Creative design and authoring of display, signage, print and presentation media for business to business marketing and communication.View my website or call 0117 321 1899 / 07770 750327

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When its difficult to park your car for fear of clampers not to mention the jitters every time there is a spring tide it is time to move. So bye bye Paintworks I’m off. Now working with N3 Display Graphics in their new offices in Warmley with acres of parking and although Warmley Brook is […]

When its difficult to park your car for fear of clampers not to mention the jitters every time there is a spring tide it is time to move. So bye bye Paintworks I’m off.

Now working with N3 Display Graphics in their new offices in Warmley with acres of parking and although Warmley Brook is nearby if that breaks its banks Noah would already have been called up.

Having spent a couple of months tucked in the corner of 5.1 and for most of that time wearing a coat, woolly and two pairs of mountaineering socks; the landlord, Tim, decided it was time for me to move. All very amicable but I suspect it was something to do with the heater under my […]

Having spent a couple of months tucked in the corner of 5.1 and for most of that time wearing a coat, woolly and two pairs of mountaineering socks; the landlord, Tim, decided it was time for me to move. All very amicable but I suspect it was something to do with the heater under my desk going flat out all day trying to thaw my feet.

Nevertheless some good times were had; lunch club Friday, reggae Wednesday and Bocabar Thurs….. no hang on that was everyday.

So I’m now in 4.2, distinctly less rustic and barn like and with the summer upon us no need for heaters – yet!

Anytime you want to pop in I’ll meet you in here or of course the Bocabar !!

As the summer season draws to a close many businesses will be turning their attention to organising conference and exhibition events to market their business and reach out to target audiences . Whether you are tasked to present on behalf of your company or running the whole event here is a handy check list to […]

As the summer season draws to a close many businesses will be turning their attention to organising conference and exhibition events to market their business and reach out to target audiences .

Whether you are tasked to present on behalf of your company or running the whole event here is a handy check list to help ensure that you don’t miss a trick and if you need a hand call us Applause 0117 933 4416.

Some questions to ask yourself.

What do I wish to communicate and why?

What style of event would be most appropriate? Conference, road show, exhibition, seminar, a combination with interactive zones. What did you do last time? Do you need to do something different?

What budget been allocated?

When will the event be held and will your date clash with another event?

Where will the venue be, is it national or regional and which locations will be easiest for delegates to attend?

What type of venue is required and how much notice will they need?

Will keynote speakers be required, how far in advance do invitations need to be sent?

Are people with the required skill set in place to support the event?

The target audience –making sure they will attend?

How many delegates will there be and appropriate room sizes and layout.

Has a full technical check of the venue been carried out.

Am I secure in the knowledge that the event is safe – for crew and staff and for delegates

What event media will be required, stage design, audio, video and presentation and display graphics.

Has a technical equipment check list been formulated.

Will a logistics team be required to rig and de-rig the event

Here are some tips to help your event run smoothly.

Create a master event schedule, so that everyone will clearly know, who is doing what, when and where.

When checking venues, walk through the entire show.Try to visualize the event experience from the delegates point of view.

Make sure that venue room specifications are accurate.

Ensure the venue has cleared your plans for health & safety and conducted a risk assessment.

Catering, 500 delegates wanting coffee at the same time! Think through the logistics and ensure sufficient venue staff to cope.

What other events or venue operations (eg kitchens) are happening in adjacent areas. You need to know if a rock concert is next door!

One of the unique attributes of Applause is that we build long term, trusting relationships with our clients. Although cost is always a key element in any business transaction we consider that, in most cases, it isn’t the primary element because people want to do business with people they like, trust and can rely on. […]

One of the unique attributes of Applause is that we build long term, trusting relationships with our clients.

Although cost is always a key element in any business transaction we consider that, in most cases, it isn’t the primary element because people want to do business with people they like, trust and can rely on. Of course they also want competitive pricing!

To illustrate my point, two clients with whom we have built such a relationship have just commissioned us to rebuild their website. One originally developed in 2004 the other in 2006. Sure proof of their trust in our reliability, competence and value for money.

Specifically they are using our services again because:

Doing business with us was a very positive experience.

The original work was of a quality and design to last 3 and 5 years respectively.

Mutual trust has developed over time because of our reliability, attention to detail and the level of support we have provided.

Once you have embarked on social media networking one of the hardest things in the beginning is building your network because at the start you don’t know anyone. Networking to your existing clients and colleagues gets you going but what you really want is to find new people, who you may have something in common […]

Once you have embarked on social media networking one of the hardest things in the beginning is building your network because at the start you don’t know anyone. Networking to your existing clients and colleagues gets you going but what you really want is to find new people, who you may have something in common with, be able to give or share information and ultimately who may help you find new business.

Perhaps you have already acquired a Linked In, Facebook, or Twitter account or more recently signed up for Google Plus, established your profile and put up a photo of yourself or business logo. Do remember that people will use this ‘Avatar’, as they are known, and your username (my Twitter ID is instantApplause) to find you and get an idea of who you are and what you do. A social media software page is a crowded place, rather like meeting someone at a station where you wear something brightly coloured, you need to be visible to be instantly recognised. A similar amount of effort needs to go into designing your identity as your business card or brochure. Many social networkers change their ID monthly, I think it is a mistake. Successful companies rarely change their identity and you shouldn’t either.

You may also have fed your email address list into the social media software application to see if anyone you have emailed has a profile; and signed up for some groups that you feel are relevant to your business. All of these techniques will build your network and set you on your way but in some instances can be very time consuming.

Here is a method that you may not have considered which involves querying Google with some structured search requests aimed at the specific networking software you use. The idea is that every profile page contained on the web will have key interests listed. Say for instance you run a small business selling rare formula 1 posters and catalogues, by searching for ‘Formula 1′ you will pick up anyone who lists Formula 1 in their profile. You can locate people who may have an interest in your business that you would not easily be able to find in any other way.

Of course having found this information you will need to consider how you might introduce yourself. You need to avoid being regarded just as a spammer and rejected, and in many applications there are penalties for this. LinkedIn for instance will terminate your account of you persistently have people returning ‘I Don’t Know This Person’ in response to your introductions. Perhaps in this example offer some free historical information or a list of rare posters you have to offer – just use your imagination to come up with an approach that will attract the person you want to connect with. At the end of the day everyone registered with a networking facility is looking to expand their network, gain new information and connect with people. Provided your approach is honest, respectful and does not amount to 500 words of ‘buy from me buy from me’ people will respond to you.

Finally remember this; although it may seem daunting at first and progress creepingly slow it does gather pace exponentially. As your network grows the faster it will expand, connect to us if you like using the links that follow, we’re always happy to network.

We are currently running a summer special offer on web hosting and domain services. This will be a particularly useful cost reduction for small businesses wanting to move up from blueyonder, hotmail, yahoo etc web accounts to a more professional business .co.uk domain and email address. Or to move existing accounts to a more cost […]

We are currently running a summer special offer on web hosting and domain services.

This will be a particularly useful cost reduction for small businesses wanting to move up from blueyonder, hotmail, yahoo etc web accounts to a more professional business .co.uk domain and email address. Or to move existing accounts to a more cost effective host that combines professional hosting and web services with a personal client relationship.

We provide a wide range of options from simple blog hosting and personal domains to high bandwidth video streaming, e-commerce and business applications and are looking to build trusting and long term relationships with new clients.